Well, I've reached a point in my restoration project where I'm really not quite sure how to proceed. Here's where I am today...

Rolling chassis is complete, the engine bay has been 100% gutted and the interior is about 50% gutted...







But where do I go from here? I know there's a bunch of body work that needs to be done, but in what order should everything be completed? What have others done?

Here's a quick list of the major things that need to be done before I can start to even think about reassembly

1. Completely gut interior & clean up
2. Remove doors & door panels to repair internals (window cranks, door handles, etc)
3. Clean up & paint engine bay (there's undercoating & gunk everywhere! )
4. Remove winshield & trim to repair birdcage corrosion
5. Bodywork to repair/replace broken body panels & generally fix bubba's sloppy repairs
6. finish bodywork & paint

Is it normal to send the body to the shop twice, once to do the rough body work and once to do the final bodywork and painting? It's obviously waaaay to soon to even think about paint, but completing some of the rough body work items, like replacing the fender wells, front valence and correcting previous bubba repairs, will affect my ability to finish other things like cleaning up the engine bay. The body isn't terrible, but it definitely needs a fair bit of TLC. I don't want to go nuts cleaning up the engine bay just to have it get all screwed up at the body shop when they do repairs.

Hopefully someone will have some helpful words of wisdom. I'm definitely lacking direction at the moment - probably because it's becoming pretty apparent how much more work I have left to do...

Also, two last things... One big thing I notice is that there's undercoating everywhere on the body. What's the best way to get this stuff off without damaging the underlying fiberglass? This stuff seems way to rugged to go the putty knife route.



And in the engine bay there are lots of straps for the various wire and vacuum hose harnesses. Are these typically left in place when the engine bay is cleaned up, or should they be removed and then reinstalled? It seems like removal makes the most sense, but how are they reattached?



Thanks in advance!
Tim

 

Tim-Yep, you got lots to do yet
1. Finish gutting the car
2. Find and repair any rust issues
3. Then do the bodywork. The body should be mounted on the frame for this
4. Paint engine compartment, windshield frame, etc. before painting the body

That's the order I did mine in, hope it helps

 

remove all of the waterproofing in the cowl area(black tar like material) and check the condition of the glass, especially where the pedal bracket bolts pass thru, for cracks. repair any problem areas and ckeck for water leaks- this is where water drips down on your feet!

 

I'd pull the windshield & finish the birdcage next!

How long ago did you start your project???

 

Thanks for the help guys. A few more questions...

Is it really necessary to have the body mounted on the chassis to do the body work? I really don't want to hand over my chassis to the body shop - it's immaculate right now and I'd like to keep it that way. Has anyone tried welding up a rigid metal frame to support the body evenly during the body work stage?

Any suggestions on removing the waterproofing from the cowl area?

My project was started back in September 2005. To date I've logged 550 or so hours on the project.

 

I sure don't blame you for not wanting to let the chassis go to the shop (I made that mistake already!), but you need to mount the body to something sturdy while the bodywork is being done, and torquing the body down to the frame you'll be using is the best way to ensure your gaps (doors, hood) stay lined up and no waves or other stresses that might appear if you move the body from a fixture onto the frame.
If I remember right, someone posted plans a while back on how to build a roll-around frame to mount the body on for situations like yours. Do a search, it should turn up.